Means for support and operation of toy aircraft



J. J. CHIKA Sept. 18, 1956 MEANS FOR SUPPORT AND OPERATION OF TOYAIRCRAFT Filed Aug. 4. 1953 JNVENTOR.

JOHN J. CH/KA BY Fig.

United States ateni:

2,763,094 -'MEANS FOR SUPPORT AND OPERATION OF AIRCRAFT John J. Chika,Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Application August 4, 1953, Serial No. 372,258

Claims. c1. -46=--'77) My invention-pertains to a toy-aiz -eraftgincombination with a slender supporting rod or tube which by meansoperatively connected to the'rod'and to the craftip'ermits execution ofvarious air maneuvers to simulate flight.

I shall now describe my improvement with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a toy plane, the view including means tosupport the plane aloft and to control its position with respect to saidsupporting means;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of elements partly within the body ofthe plane and partly at the end of the plane-supporting means fordisconnectable attachment of said means to the plane, parts of the planebeing shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a detail of construction of amodified control means, specifically, of a modified control rod and alocking means attached to the sleeve shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through one of the simulated fuel tanks atthe end of one of the wings, the view disclosing means for connection ofa control rod for control of the position of the plane relative to themeans supporting the plane.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As an example I am using an average toy p'lane, generally indicated bynumeral 20, which is preferably of hollow construction and includes twowings 21, each terminating with a simulated fuel tank 22 of aconventional appearance. Located in an aperture 23 shown in Fig. 2within the shell 24 of the body of the plane, on the underside thereof,is a cylindrical stud 25 containing an axially-disposed spring-actuatedbolt 26 and a radiallyprojecting dog 27 retractable on pressure uponsaid bolt 26 from above. Numeral 28 indicates a flange upon said studwhich at its lower end is bi-furcated and perforated transversely. Thispermits application of a bolt 29 for a pivotal connection to theproperly adapted upper end 30 of a slender supporting rod or tube 31.

In an aperture 32 within the shell 24 of the body of the plane, butwithin the top portion thereof, is a pin 33, the lower part thereofresting on top of said bolt 26. The upper end of the pin projects abovesaid shell 24 and is formed into a knob 34 by means of which the pin maybe depressed manually.

Slidingly seated upon the supporting rod 31 above the handle 35 at thelower end thereof, is a sleeve 36 which is adapted to be rotated aboutsaid rod. Radially set in the sleeve is a screw 37 terminating with aneye 38 which encircles control rod 39, permitting its free rotatablemovement but not a longitudinal movement therein, as explainedhereinbelow with reference to the structure disclosed in Fig. 3. At theupper or opposite end said control rod 39 is connected to the undersideof one of the simulated fuel tanks 22. The connection is of the swiveltype, as illustrated in Fig. 4, where a vertical bolt 40 diametricallypassing through the mi'dportion of the body 22 terminates at the lowerend, outside of the wall ice of the body22, with an eye 41. The latteris connected by means of a ring-42 to a hairpin-shaped spring clip 43,one leg of which is secured 'totheupperend of'said control rod 39. Aremovable ring '44 adapted to fit into 'a depression 45 in one arm oftheclip 43 serves to bring a ring 48 upon said handle 46, andcontrolledby means of a lever 49. Ring 44a locks the pad in offposition. .As

the structure is well known, no further description thereof is deemednecessary.

The eye-screw 50 radially extending from handle 46 and .rotatablyconnected to the control .rod 51,.analogous to rod 39 in Figs. land '4,is kept in place uponzs'aid'rod by means of two ridges 52 straddlingsaid eye screw '50. Otherwise, said rod 51 is joined to one of the wingextremities in the same manner as saidrod 39. .Nunreral 53 indicates ahandle for'said .rod 51.

Referring now to the plane shown in Fig. 1, the operation thereof isquite obvious. To simulate the flight of a plane, the plane is heldaloft upon the supporting rod 31, the person operating the plane holdingthe rod by means of handle 35. If it is desired to bank the plane, thatis, to tip it laterally to one side or another, this is accomplishedsimply by sliding sleeve 36 upon said rod 31. As the sleeve is connectedto one of the wings by means of another rod, the control rod 39, themovement of the sleeve downwardly will bring about a downward dip ofthat wing. By a reverse movement of the sleeve the wing will be tippedupwardly. If it is desired to impart to the plane a rotary movementsubstantially about a vertical axis, or more specifically, about theaxis of the stud 25, this may be accomplished by rotating the sleeve 36about the rod 31, while at the same time sliding it back or forth alongthe rod 31, depending on the direction of the turn desired. The planemay be locked in any position by means shown in Fig. 3.

After a little practice a person may easily imitate take-offs, landing,banking, turning, climbing, diving, and all other types of acrobaticsknown to the art of flight.

The sleeve-locking device shown in Fig. 3 may be employed to keep theplane in a fixed position upon the rod, eliminating the possibility oflateral dips or a rotary action with respect to the above-named stud 25,and also making it possible to hold the toy a'loft with one hand in anypie-selected condition.

After having described my invention, What I wish to claim is as follows:

1. In combination, a toy or the like including a body, an elongatedrod-like member having at one end a handle, a vertical coupling on thebody of the toy or the like, said body being rotatable abut the axis ofsaid coupling, the latter including at its lower exteriorly-protrudingend a portion hingedly connected for movement about a horizontal axis tothe other end of said elongated rod-like member, a control rod at oneend slidably connected to the said rod-like member adjoining its handlefor rotation about said rod-like member and for longitudinal movementthereon and pivotally connected at the other end to the peripheralsection of the toy or the like, the control rod serving to tilt the toywhen held by means of the elongated rod-like member.

2. in combination, a toy plane including a body and wings laterallyextending therefrom, a supporting rod, the body being provided withmeans for connection to said supporting rod, the supporting rod beinghinged at one end to a bolt for pivotal movement relative to the boltabout an axis transverse thereto, the bolt being removably engaged withsaid means so that the body may a pivot about the axis of the bolt, thesupporting rod being adapted to be held manually at its opposite end, acontrol rod at one end rotatably and slidably connected to thesupporting rod at a point remote from the bodyof the plane, the otherend of the control rod being pivotally connected to the outer endportion of one of the wings, the plane being adapted, in response to themanual operation of the control rod, to be tipped about saidaxistransverse to the bolt and to be rotated about the axis of the bolt.

3. In combination, a toy or the like including a body, -a supporting rodhaving at one end a handle, a vertical coupling within the body, thebody being rotatable about the axis of the coupling, said couplingincluding a downwardly-protruding portion providing a hinged connectionwith one end of the supporting rod, a sleeve axially mounted on thesupporting rod and adapted to move slidably .therealong and to berotated thereabout, and a control rod at one end pivotally connected tosaid sleeve and at the other end pivotally connected to the peripheralportion of the body of the toy, the control rod being adapted to beactuated manually by said sleeve to tilt the body about the axis of saidhinged connection and to rotate the body about the vertical coupling.

4. In combination, a toy or the like as defined in claim 3 and includinga locking means attached to the sleeve to keep said sleeve upon therod-like member in a fixed, non-slidable, and non-rotating position.

5. In combination, a toy including a body and wings laterally extendingtherefrom, coupling means within the body for connection with asupporting rod, a supporting rod having at one end a bolt hinged theretoand vertically engaged with said coupling means, and a controlling rodat one end rotatably and slidably connected to the supporting rod at theend remote from the body of the toy, the other endof the controlrodbeing pivotally connected to the, outer end portion of one wing, thecontrol rod serving as manual means to move the body about the hingeaxis of said bolt and to rotate said body about the axis of said bolt.

References Cited in the file of this patent STATES PATENTS

